Delmarva Inside Passage

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Mark
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Delmarva Inside Passage

Post by Mark »

I meant wrote this in the summer of 2009 but forgot to post it. I’m posting it now in case anyone is thinking about trying the Delmarva inside passage – I’d highly recommend it!

Just returned from our Delmarva peninsula cruise. We had two days of good wind going down the Chesapeake stopping just before the Rappahannock and then at Klip state park on Virginia's Eastern Shore. The harbor consists of a number of World War II liberty ships off a nice beach - ice and free showers ashore. We entered Virginia's inside passage at Cape Charles and learnt an important lesson - never lower the mast if there is the possibility of a beam sea. A I talked about in a separate post, a powerboat decided to pass just as we began to lower the mast, it slowed down but still it felt and sounded as if the mast was going to come crashing down. One of the shrouds from the mast to the spreader came away at the spreader - the rivets pulled out. These stays have always been loose - does anyone know if they serve a necessary function?

The inside passage is unbelievably beautiful with large areas of marsh and mudflats, barrier islands, narrow channels and good fishing. The few boats we saw were mainly small recreational fishing boats whose occupants obviously did not often see a sailing boat in those waters. At one anchorage where we left the channel to anchor in 2 feet of water, a passing boat slowed down and couldn't contain their laughter, making jokes about keel size, state of the tide and no doubt about the mental capacity of the captain. Another time when we were happily motoring along a small skiff came alongside just to check we were OK - perhaps they thought we were lost and couldn’t find the way out! The charts are a little out of date. Some of the marsh is now open mud flats and channel depth varies greatly. Anchoring was no problem although currents were particularly strong in some areas. We found that mosquitoes were no problem in the marsh as long as one kept away from trees.

We never made it to the Delaware Bay, however. At Wachapreague, the local marina manager said that they knew of only one boat that had made it through the inside passage to Chincoteake in recent weeks and that was a small motorboat. The coast guard confirmed the poor condition of the channel north and didn't recommend trying - although they also were surprised we had got through from Cape Charles. They also recommended waiting a few days before going outside because of forecast 15-foot waves from the hurricane off shore (I don’t think these actually materialized). Since we were enjoying the inside passage so much - fishing, swimming, exploring minor channels we decided go no further and retraced our steps.

Our second lesson of the trip - if you are in Virginia State waters be prepared to be boarded by the coast guard - in two weeks, they came alongside 3 times which leads to lesson 3 - if there is the possibility of a boat coming along side - mark a stern anchor with a buoy. On the third visit the coast guard managed to wrap the anchor rope around a prop causing their boat to lie broadside to the front of ours pinned by a 2-3 knot current.

Mark
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